Spirent Communications plc (LON: SPT), a leading communications technology company, today issues the following Trading Update for the period 1 January to 31 March 2019.

Group performance

The Group as a whole saw positive momentum carried into the first quarter of 2019. Trading performance is in line with our plan. Revenue and earnings grew compared to the same period in 2018.

In addition, the order pipeline remains robust and order intake for the period also showed solid growth compared with the same period in 2018.

As is typical for Spirent we expect a weighting to the second half of the year, with the usual uptick in the final quarter of the financial year. The Board remains confident in delivering further strategic progress in the year with no change to our outlook.

Networks & Security

We continue to maintain our leadership position in high-speed Ethernet test and showcased our capabilities at the OFC conference in San Diego with the world’s highest-density 400/200/100/50 Gigabit Ethernet test system. We see robust demand for our GPS positioning products and will shortly launch our new Data Breach Assessment security solution for continuous automated assessment of security and data loss prevention policies, as demand for our leading security solutions continues to grow.

Lifecycle Service Assurance

A number of support contracts were secured in the period, originally expected late 2018, and our VisionWorks solution continues to be well received by our key customers. Demand for our Mobility products grew driven by 5G and other Landslide expansion opportunities. We secured key orders for 10G and 100G probes from a Tier 1 US network operator. Order intake momentum improved and revenue growth picked up in the quarter as a result.

We showcased our 5G test leadership at a public demonstration at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where our Landslide solution was used to validate the conformance and performance of a 5G standalone core network.

Connected Devices

We continue to see relative stability in the smartphone test market and our strategic focus on developing 5G test capabilities is on track. We have expanded our routes to market and have won important 5G opportunities for our Wireless solutions in China and the Nordic region on the back of our strong technical support.

“The year has started well with continued revenue and profit growth compared to the same period in 2018. Our pipeline remains robust, our market leading technologies, appropriate R&D investment and strong customer relationships continue to underpin our plans to support growth. We have also increased our customer key account reach and account management team to ensure we continue our focused approach to business growth.”

Board update

As previously announced, Eric Updyke has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer from today.

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